(Why should) I Care
by KateCake
Summary: Stiles' parents weren't soulmates. That doesn't mean they didn't love each other. That's why Stiles never gave the whole soulmate thing a second thought. Maybe that's why the universe deemed it necessary to punish him. [A Steter Soulmate AU]


A/N: Something short I wrote during Steter Week 2017.  


* * *

A long time ago, people began to be born with heterochromatic eyes. There's no concrete evidence to when this phenomena began. Most records of his phenomena are from the early records of Plague University in the early 1350s, but there have been recorded instances dating all the way back to the early 1200s in the Mongolian empire.

Such a phenomena would've been written off as part of humanity's evolution if not for one little thing. Sometimes an individual's left eye color would change. This change was always in one of two ways; either the color of their left eye would change to match their right, or it would turn white.

It took centuries of observation and documentation for this phenomena to be explained. By the mid 1700s, the term _soulmate_ was common knowledge to the people of the world. By the late 1800s, it became an accepted explanation within the scientific and religious communities as well as amongst the general public.

Despite this, not everyone found their soulmate. By this point in time, people had come to accept that they lived in a vastly populated world. People generally fell into two categories: those held out hope for finding their so called "_one and only_" and those who accepted that they may never find their soulmate.

Stiles' parents were part of those who fell into the second category. For as long as Stiles can remember, his dad's eyes have always been the same color and his mom's left eye has always been white. Stiles remembers his mom telling him that her eye has been white since she was a teenager when he asked. His dad told him that while he had met his soulmate, he loved Claudia too much to even entertain the idea of leaving her.

Stiles' parents loved each other despite not being soulmates. At times, Stiles was sure they loved each other more than some soulmates. It was certainly the case when compared to the Turners who lived down the street.

Stiles likes to believe he follows his parents' philosophy on soulmates. It'd be nice to meet them, but he wasn't going to avoid all potential relationships for someone he might or might not meet.

Scott, on the other hand, is a hopeless romantic. Always has been. And it became worse on the first day of their sophomore year of high school. That was when he met Allison.

Her introduction was cut short by the class' collective gasp when her left eye slowly became its natural color. Fascinated like the rest of the class, Stiles looked around to see who's eyes were also no longer heterochromatic.

Front that day on, Scott and Allison were disgustingly romantic with each other. Even with the shitshow that is werewolves.

Stiles feels pity the moment he meets Derek.

Derek's left eye is white and the sadness in them says he knew who his soulmate was before they died.

He wants to ask, but Derek scares him too much. It's not even the werewolf part that scares him. Strangely, he can deal with that. It's the constantly being glared at.

Stiles decides to swallow his fear and work with Derek anyways. Someone has to help Scott while he and Allison play _Romeo and Juliet_.

Which is why he's walking into Beacon Crossing Home well past visiting hours. He's trying to be as quiet as he can, which is the only reason he answers his phone; to shut it up.

"_Stiles, get out of there! It's him! He's the Alpha!_"

Stiles doesn't pay attention to a single word Derek says as he makes eye contact with Peter Hale. The man's left eye turns from a light brown to a clear blue.

He knows Peter talks simply because his lips move, but Stiles doesn't hear any of it. He doesn't hear anything as he stands there shocked and breathless. He should fear this man, he actually does a little, but he mostly feels warmth and acceptance in his chest. How did his dad manage to meet his soulmate and not go with them?

Derek pushes him out of the way and the world erupts into a cacophony of snarls, growls, and flesh being torn.

When he meets back with Scott, it's to plan how to stop Peter. Stiles doesn't mention his sudden lack of heterochromatic eyes and Scott doesn't bring it up. (Maybe he doesn't even notice, a dark part of Stiles thinks.)

It felt like the world was dimming around him. Turning into grey and the sound fading. He knows the moment Peter dies. He feels it like a stab in the chest. He doesn't need a mirror to tell him his left eye is white.

Everyone jumps and Stiles wonders what that awful noise is. He realizes just a little too late that it's him. He's screaming and the sound is agonizing, full of mourning. He wasn't even aware he was capable of such a sound.

Scott's by his side calming him down despite the look of betrayal in his eyes. When he glances at Chris he looks slightly disgusted so he quickly looks away. Derek isn't much better either. There's a look of pity and understanding in his eyes.

It makes him feel sick.

The next three and a half months feel like he's living life with earplugs and sunglasses. Nothing looks or sounds or _feels_ right anymore.

Scott tries to help him. He really does.

"_I don't like it_," Scott had said. "_But he was your soulmate, and a soulmate is a soulmate. Maybe he would've been good for you. Maybe you guys could've been happy. But at the time, he was a danger to everyone. So, I'm sorry for your loss, Stiles. I really am_."

Surprisingly, Stiles does feel a little better. Scott's looking past his own dislike of Peter for Stiles' sake.

He spends the next hour sobbing into Scott's shoulder.

After that, life feels a little easier. Although Stiles isn't entirely sure if it's because Scott's okay with it, or because it has to be. He has to help Scott and Derek stop Gerard and that fucking lizard after all.

He asks his dad for color contacts so that he doesn't have to see the white every time he looks at a mirror.

The morning after Lydia's party, Stiles throws up. Both his eyes are brown again.

He spends the entire day researching. There is nothing _anywhere_ talking about a phenomena like this. It makes him want to scream and cry and laugh.

He's glad he asked his dad for colored contacts. Especially with all the time he's spending with Derek trying to stop Gerard and Jackson.

Derek stares at him all the time now, too. Like he _knows_.

It makes Stiles feel like he's drowning.

Stiles almost has a panic attack when he meets Peter again.

Peter doesn't remember meeting him in Beacon Crossing.


End file.
